Culinary Goods

I got this recipe from Rebecca, and I would give it an 8.3. I didn’t take a picture of these, but they look good and taste good. Think of something that looks good and resembles a salad and now you have created your own picture. Ingredients o 2 pounds pork (we use boneless pork rib meat) o 3 cans Coke (NOT diet) o 1/4 c. brown sugar o dash garlic salt o 1/4 c. water o 1 can diced green chilies o 3/4 (10oz) can red enchilada sauce (I use Old El Paso brand, medium spiciness but any will work) o 1 c. brown sugar Instructions o Put the pork in a heavy duty ziploc bag to marinade. Add about a can and a half of coke and about 1/4 c. of brown sugar. Marinade for a few hours or overnight. o Drain marinade and put pork, 1/2 can of coke, water, and garlic salt in crock pot on high for about 3-4 hours (or until it shreds easily, but don't let it get TOO dry) or on low for 8 hours. Remove pork from crock pot and drain any liquid left in the pot. Shred pork. o In a food processo...

I got this recipe off bakedinaz.com and really liked it. I may cut down the soy sauce just a bit next time because it was slightly too salty for me, but really liked it otherwise. Jared gave it a 7 and I gave it a 7.5. I served it with garlic green beans and brown rice. Slow Cooker Sesame Chicken Ingredients: 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (I use frozen) I only used 2 chicken breasts because there's only two of us (and Scout, who doesn't really count since she barely eats anything.) ½-1 cup honey I used 1/4 cup ½ cup soy sauce 1 cup diced onion ¼ cup ketchup 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch 1/3 cup water Sesame seeds Directions: 1. Combine the honey, soy sauce, onion, ketchup, oil, garlic, pepper flakes & pepper in the slow cooker. Add the chicken and stir to cover them with the sauce. 2. Cook on low for 3 to 4...

I really loved this salad and wished I had discovered it a few months ago, because it would have been a great summer dish. I gave it an 8 and Jared gave it a 6.5. Greek Pasta Salad Recipe by Our Best Bites Ingredients: 8 ounces pasta (your choice) I used spiral noodles 1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced or chopped 1/2 medium red onion, sliced or minced 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced or chopped 1 15-ounce can black olives, drained (you can use Kalamata olives if you prefer) I used Kalamata 1 cup grape tomatoes, rinsed I forgot to add those but ironically added one tomato, because I had it on hand. 2/3 cup crumbled feta cheese 1 recipe Greek Salad dressing Optional: 3/4-1 pound raw chicken breasts, romaine lettuce, 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil, a few tablespoons chopped fresh oregano, and a handful of whole pepperoncinis. I added romaine lettuce but nothing else. Instructions: If you want to add chicken to your salad, marinate the chicken in about...

This recipe came from Annie’s Eats, and it did not disappoint. Although my cupcakes did not look as good as the ones you see below, they tasted great and if I could just practice piping frosting, mine would have looked this good. Stupid frosting tip. But, these were good. John gives them a 9. I give them an 8.5. I put my changes in bold. Pear Vanilla Bean Cupcakes Yield: about 30 cupcakes Ingredients For the cupcakes: 14 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided I used 1 cube of butter and 1/3 cup canola oil 3 cups chopped (peeled) pears (about 3-4 medium pears) 1½ cups plus 3 tbsp. sugar, divided I cut the sugar down to a generous 1 cup plus 3 Tbs. for the fillin ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon Dash of ground ginger Dash of grated nutmeg 2 1/3 cups cake flour 2¼ tsp. baking powder ½ tsp. salt 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise I left this out 4 large eggs, at room temperature 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature 2½ tsp. vanilla extract I increased this to 1 Tbs. For the frost...

So I don't like white chocolate, but love gingerbread, so swapped out the white chocolate for semi-sweet. I also cut down the sugar a bit too much, but all the comments I read on this recipe said they were a bit too sweet. Next time I'll add just a bit more sugar. I got this recipe off of marthastewart.com and gave them a 7.5 while Jared gave them a 7. I put my changes in bold. Ingredients Vegetable-oil cooking spray 2 3/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda 1 1/4 teaspoons salt 1 1/4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon ground ginger I used 1 heaping tsp.  1/4 teaspoon ground cloves I used 1/4 heaping tsp.  2 1/2 sticks (20 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature I put in only 1 stick and 1/2 C. canola oil 1 1/4 cups packed light-brown sugar I put in on...

I forgot to get a picture of these, which is really a shame, because they looked quite pretty. These were not healthy at all (aside from the spinach), but I will make them again because they're easy and tasty and put a grown-up spin on the grilled cheese sandwich. Jared gave them a 7 and I gave them a 7.5. I got the recipe off of annies-eats.com. Spinach Artichoke Grilled Cheese Yield: 2 servings Ingredients 1 tbsp. olive oil 2 cloves garlic, minced About 3 cups chopped spinach leaves, stemmed, washed and dried Salt and pepper, to taste 1/3 cup artichoke hearts, chopped 2 tbsp. sour cream or Greek yogurt I used Greek yogurt and also added 2 TBS of cream cheese 1 cup freshly shredded cheese* I used provolone 4 slices artisan bread, such as sourdough Butter, for cooking *Provolone, fontina, mozzarella, and Monterey Jack are all great options here – I like a blend  Directions Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic to...

I know that this picture is tremendous and you have my permission to use it if you ever need to. So I pulled a Rachel (off of Friends when she mixes up two recipes) and accidentally combined two recipes. The end result actually wasn't all that gross since I didn't mess it up too badly, but I would be curious to see what they would taste like as just the one recipe. I will be more careful when using my iphone to look up a recipe when I'm cooking, because it's really easy to swipe over to another recipe without realizing it. Plus, in my defense, the two recipes were really similar, so anyone could have made this mistake (I'll keep telling myself that). So here is the original recipe and my changes/mess ups in bold. I actually like that I put in more cocoa and chocolate chips, because it wouldn't have been chocolatey enough without that. I typically don't look for vegan recipes, but a banana chocolate cookie sounded good, so I went for it. I got this(ese) ...

I got this recipe from my mother-in-law and I think she got it from the Food Network. I forgot to take a picture of it, but it basically looks like a pan of brownies. My only disclaimer with this is that it is REALLY sweet, even after I cut the sugar down by 1/2 cup. I would give it an 8. Ingredients 1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus extra for buttering the dish. I used 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup butter 4 extra-large eggs, at room temperature 2 cups sugar I used 1 1/2 cups 3/4 cup good cocoa powder 1/2 cup all-purpose flour Seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean I put in 2 tsp. vanilla since I didn't have vanilla beans 1 tablespoon framboise liqueur, optional I didn't have this either Vanilla ice cream, for serving Directions Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly butter a 2-quart (9 by 12 by 2-inch) oval baking dish. Melt the 1/2 pound of butter and set aside to cool. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the...

This recipe (and picture) came from Fine Cooking magazine. It looks good, right? Yep, that’s what I thought, but these were terrible. These are by far the worst dessert I have ever made in my life. They sucked! And, I followed the recipe exactly. First, I don’t think I love real, high quality white chocolate. I think I like Nestle white chocolate chips and temple mints that you get at wedding receptions, which are actually not white chocolate. So, I bought the real deal and was disappointed because the taste wasn’t the fake, artificial taste I was used to. So, why am I providing the recipe? Because it was such a big fat waste of time that I couldn’t bear to not document that I wasted such a big chunk of time on a Sunday with nothing to show for it.And, this recipe can serve as a warning—don’t waste your time if you came across this in issue 68 of Fine Cooking. This was the only recipe I have ever made from Fine Cooking that I didn’t like a whole lot. She did have another option with es...

I love french onion soup and this recipe didn't disappoint. Even Scout was dipping her bread into the soup and kept saying "Mmmm". I got it off of Annie's Eats and made very few changes. I normally don't buy Gruyere cheese because it's a bit pricey, but this recipe would not taste as good without it. Jared and I both gave it an 8.  French Onion Soup Yield: 3-4 servings Ingredients 2 tbsp. unsalted butter 2 large red onions, thinly sliced Pinch of sugar 2 leeks, including tender green portions, thinly sliced I can never find leeks, so I didn't use them 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth- I only put in 2 cups ¾ cup low-sodium beef broth- I put it 3 cups ¼ cup dry red wine 2 sprigs fresh parsley 1 sprig fresh thyme 1 bay leaf Salt and pepper, to taste Baguette slices, ¾-inch thick Sliced Gruyere cheese Directions Melt the butter in a Dutch oven or large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add in the...